The present disclosure relates generally to detecting cable leakage and, more specifically, to a system and method for locating and identifying cable television signal leaks.
Cable television is a system (e.g., a cable xe2x80x9cplantxe2x80x9d) for delivering television signals to subscribers or viewers by means of coaxial cable. When signals above a certain power level leak from the cable plant into the atmosphere, they may conflict with those used by the aviation industry. Signal leakage can occur in a variety of situations, such as when the shielding of cable cracks or becomes weathered, when connectors become loose, or when the cable breaks.
Rules promulgated by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) require cable television operators to monitor their cable plants, including their transport media (e.g., cables). Among other items, these rules cover monitoring and reporting on signal xe2x80x9cleaksxe2x80x9d that occur in the cables. To comply with these standards, cable companies must make power measurements of their facilities and report data obtained during the measurements to the FCC.
Although various methods have been developed to locate cable television leaks, each method presents one or more disadvantages. For example, some methods lack effectiveness in locating or identifying leaks, while others are costly or time consuming.
Accordingly, what is needed is a system and method for accurately locating and identifying leaks, recording information regarding each located leak, and utilizing the recorded information to comply with regulatory requirements, schedule repairs, and monitor cable infrastructure.
Provided is a system and method for detecting cable leakage. In one embodiment, the system is for processing data associated with a plurality of radio frequency (RF) leaks in a cable television system. The data includes a plurality of sets, each set containing signal information, an amplitude, a longitude, a latitude, and Doppler-based bearing information. The system comprises a processor, a memory, and a plurality of instructions. The memory is accessible to the processor and is operable to store the plurality of data sets. The plurality of instructions are for performing a spectral analysis using the signal information to identify whether an RF emission is a leak from the cable television system, performing a Doppler analysis using the longitude, latitude, and bearing information to calculate a location of each leak, and automatically generating repair information using the location calculated by the Doppler analysis.